The Dragon's Descent (12 page)

As Greer and Vero headed up the massive steps into C.A.N.D.L.E., both looked around. There were no other angels to be seen.

“It's like the place is deserted,” Greer said, her eyes scanning the area.

“It was like this the last time I came. Must be Angel Spring Break at C.A.N.D.L.E.”

“There is no such thing. Everyone just shows up when needed,” Greer said.

The front doors were wide open. Vero and Clover walked inside. In the main entrance, they saw Ada and Pax walking toward them; Ada, with her curly auburn hair, and Pax, with his ears sticking out far from his head, were a welcome sight to Vero. Ada ran and hugged Vero. Greer high-fived Pax.

“Have you guys seen anyone else here?” Vero asked, his voice echoing in the empty hall.

“Not yet,” Pax said. “You're the first.”

“Did we miss some memo about where we're supposed to meet?” Greer asked as she took in the stillness of the hall.

Suddenly, a wind rushed into the hall, and the heavy stone doors slammed shut. The fledglings jumped back. When the wind stopped, Uriel, Raziel, and Raphael stood before Vero and the others. Vero smiled when he saw Raphael. With his jolly, round, wide face and friendly smile, Raphael always made Vero feel at ease.

“We're missing two,” Raziel said dryly.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the front door. Raziel rolled his eyes. The doors swung open, revealing X and Kane standing on the threshold, unsure whether or not to enter.

“Come on, come on,” Raphael motioned. “Get in here.”

X and Kane walked inside. Vero thought X looked even bigger than the last time he saw him, if that was possible. X was powerfully built, especially his upper body. Kane was also very muscular, though he was much shorter than X. But it was Kane's expression that Vero was trying to gauge. Last time they had been together, Kane had been in such a bad place. As Kane got closer, Vero smiled to him. Kane returned the gesture. Vero took that as a good sign.

“Let's do this in the courtyard,” Uriel told them.

As the group headed outside, Vero shimmied over to Kane.

“Hey,” Vero said to him in a low voice. “How are you?”

“Doing good,” Kane said.

“I mean, are you okay?” Vero hesitantly asked.

“You mean because of the whole Angel Trial thing?” Kane said.

Vero nodded.

“Yeah, I'm over it. It took a few months, but now I realize it didn't really matter.”

Vero smiled ear to ear. He was thrilled to have the old Kane back. The group stepped outside into a lush courtyard, something Monet would have loved to capture on canvas.

“Sit,” Uriel instructed, pointing to several benches.

The fledglings sat down on stone benches surrounded by immaculately manicured bushes and flowerbeds.

“Ada,” Uriel said, “what do you know about the Book of Raziel?”

Vero looked, trying to make eye contact with the other fledglings. Did they also think it was strange that there were no pleasantries? That Uriel was jumping right into it?

“Well, not too much. There's really nothing about the Book of Raziel in the Torah or other sacred scriptures, but according to Jewish mythology, the Book of Raziel was given to Adam after he was kicked out of the garden. Adam and Eve were so repentant for their sins, and so unprepared to deal with life outside the garden, that God sent a great book to Adam that contained many great secrets of nature that would help him adapt to life on earth,” Ada said while twirling her curly hair through her finger. “Supposedly it listed secrets of the universe . . .”

“Such as?” Raphael interrupted.

“The laws of creation and of the planets and stars. It listed the names of all the angels and how to summon them,” Ada said. “It contained the names of every human yet to be born. The book had information that even the angels don't know . . .”

Vero looked over to Raziel, wondering if it were true. Vero knew that Raziel was the angel who had stood next to God's throne and had written down everything he had heard—hence the name of the book. So how could he not
know certain things that were written in the book he'd compiled? Raziel caught Vero looking at him and glared back. Vero quickly returned his attention to Ada.

“Some of the angels grew jealous and took the book from Adam, throwing it into the sea, but per God's instructions, the angel Rahab retrieved it and returned the book to Adam. From there it was passed down through Adam's generations and eventually given to Noah. Its secrets taught Noah how to build the ark. It was also passed down to Abraham and to Joseph. Joseph used the book to discover the true meanings of dreams. Moses had it at one point and took the book with him as he fled Egypt. Eventually the book taught King Solomon great wisdom, and he used the secrets to help build his temple, where he kept the book with the Ark of the Covenant,” Ada said. “The temple burned to the ground, and the book was lost.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested the information. Then Greer responded, rolling her eyes. “I thought you said you didn't know much about this book!”

“Oh, I don't. Like I said, there is no direct reference to the Book of Raziel in the Torah, or scriptures. Though Genesis 5 does mention Adam's Book of Generations, and some say that is a reference to it.”

“So what happened to the book after King Solomon?” Pax asked.

“No one knows. It disappeared. Thousands of years later, in medieval times, there was an actual published book that went by the same name, and was full of Jewish mysticism and magic, but no one knows what happened to the original book,” Ada said.

“It just vanished,” Raziel said, matter of fact. “Never to be seen again.”

“What does the book have to do with us?” X asked.

Uriel spoke next. “The book was and is very real. Abraham, and mankind itself, could never have adapted outside the garden without this precious gift from God. Vero must find the book—and soon. Lucifer and his demons are searching for it, desperate to possess all of its knowledge. We need to find it and return it to its proper place before he can seize it. If he gets his hands on it first, his ability to sway and influence humanity will be unimaginably multiplied.”

“But Raziel”—X turned to Raziel—“don't you know everything in your book? Couldn't you just rewrite it?”

“No. I have no recollection of what is written in the book. The memory of its contents was taken from me,” he humbly admitted.

Uriel looked to Raziel, his eyes full of empathy.

“Is there anything in particular that Lucifer wants from the book?” Pax asked, pushing up the bridge of his glasses.

“Yes. It's the list of humans yet to be born that most interests him. I explained this to Vero earlier, but there is a child to be born. A child who will do much good in the world and lead many souls back to God,” Uriel said. “This child is very important to God's plan for mankind. If Lucifer learns the name of this child, he will stop at nothing to prevent him from reaching maturity.”

“Who is the child?” Kane asked.

“We don't know,” Raphael answered. “We have told you everything we learned.”

“But his name is written in the book. And Lucifer knows that,” Raziel said, and Vero had never seen the archangel look so dejected.

“But why is Vero the one who must find the book?” Kane asked. “He's only a fledgling. Why wouldn't God want full-fledged angels or you guys?” Kane looked at the three archangels.

“Kane, we don't question God's will,” Uriel said. “Vero has been given the gifts needed to find the book.”

“Of course. Vero,” Kane said with a slight tinge of envy in his voice.

“Yes, Vero,” Uriel repeated, “and all of you must do whatever is necessary to help him succeed.” As Uriel said this, he studied Kane with some concern.

Vero looked down, almost embarrassed. Raphael placed his hand on Vero's shoulder. “Don't ever be ashamed of what God has given you. Everybody gets exactly what they need.”

Vero nodded.

“What does the book look like?” Pax asked. “How will we recognize it?”

“There are many rumors, but we don't know for sure,” Raphael said.

“But Raziel, you have to at least know what the book looks like.” Pax looked eagerly at him.

Raziel sadly shook his head.

“We will help you in every way we can,” Raphael said. “Don't be afraid to ask us. We want you to succeed.”

Raziel stepped dangerously closer to the fledglings. “We
need
you to succeed.”

9

SEVERE BEASTS

V
ero, X, Pax, Kane, and Greer tried to keep pace with Ada, who beelined toward the library with arms swinging by her side.

“Slow down,” Greer yelled to Ada. “The book's been out there for thousands of years. What are a few more minutes?”

Ada didn't answer. She instead walked up the steps to the library two at a time and went inside. Standing in the great library, Vero wished he had sunglasses—not that he had any choice in what he wore to the Ether. Bright light shone through the windows, creating a blinding glare off the stark-white walls, ceiling, floor, tables, and benches. Shading his eyes, Vero saw thousands and thousands of scrolls stacked from floor to ceiling. After walking past
several stacks, he and his friends found seats on benches around a stone table.

“You remember how this works? Right?” Ada asked the group.

“Yeah,” X said.

Vero recalled the first time he had been in the library. They had been looking to do research on unicorns, but none of the fledglings had known how to locate the scroll they needed. And suddenly, just at the mere thought of the mystical creatures, an ancient scroll had separated from all the others on the shelves, flown into the air, and landed on a table before them. When they unrolled the parchment, a teeny tiny unicorn had materialized and flown into Pax's ear and out the other! The information they had needed soared directly into his head, and the knowledge of unicorns had remained in his brain.

“So start thinking ‘Book of Raziel,' ” Ada told everyone.

Greer closed her eyes and concentrated, as did Pax. Kane tilted his head back and looked up at the many scrolls.

“Book of Raziel,” Ada whispered to herself.

Vero was lost in thought as he pressed two fingers on either side of his temples. After a few seconds, he lowered his hands, looking discouraged.

“Nothing's happening,” he said.

Greer opened her eyes. “Yep. I'm striking out too.”

“It always worked before,” Ada said, worried and nervous.

“Try again,” Kane said. “But this time, concentrate on
any
information about the Book of Raziel.”

Everyone closed their eyes and focused, but yet no scroll flew to them and presented itself. Vero sighed, opening his eyes.

“I'm not feeling it,” he said. “Maybe the Book of Raziel is so secretive there is no scroll on it.”

“Then we need to go to Solomon's temple, if that was the last place it was seen,” X said.

“Great idea!” Greer said.

X proudly smiled.

“Except for the fact that it burnt to the ground!” Greer narrowed her eyes at X.

X's smile dropped. “Oh, yeah . . .”

“At least you're thinking along the right lines,” Pax said to X.

Greer leaned back, her eyes scanning the library.

“I'd really hate to be the guy who has to keep this place so pristine. There isn't a smudge of dirt anywhere,” Greer said.

“Greer! Who cares?” Ada shouted. “You're supposed to be concentrating on the book!”

“None of the archangels can tell us anything on the book, even Raziel,” Greer yelled. “So what chance do we have? It's a lost cause!”

“Don't ever become a motivational speaker,” X smirked to Greer.

“She is right though,” Kane said.

“Thank you.” Greer flashed the others a smug look.

“But if Uriel, Raphael, and Raziel have no clue . . .” Kane said.

“Rahab!” Pax suddenly shouted. “He might know something!”

“He's the angel of the seas, right?” X asked.

“Yes. When the jealous angels threw the book into the sea, Rahab retrieved it,” Ada explained.

“Exactly,” Pax said. “Maybe he'd be easier to find than Solomon's temple.”

“You're right. He might know something. If not where it is, maybe at least what it looks like,” X said.

“Or he may know bupkis!” Greer added. “We could waste all this time tracking him down only to find out that the memory of the book was taken from him too!”

“I think you can also scratch life coach off your career list,” X told Greer.

“I'm just the voice of reason,” Greer shot back.

“We have no other leads.” Pax looked to the rest. They nodded in agreement.

Greer threw up her hands. “Okay, so where do we find Rahab?” She sighed.