Seraphim looked at the ruddy Gabriel and the more slender but tree-sturdy Joan with a shocked, open mouthed expression. “The three of you were-?”

“No.” Gabriel and Joan answered at once, each shaking their heads at the same time and even the same rhythm.

Joan opened the door and Seraphim, after one reticent half step, followed the two into the back room. “Not that it’s any of your business, but you’ve got to understand, people in this business, we all know each other. At least the ones who make up teams like ours. It’s a tight circle.” She said, closing the door behind Seraphim.

The room was narrow, Seraphim could not have opened her wings to their full extent without touching the walls, and the metal shelves lined with various brown boxes and multicolored bins made the space even tighter. “Your enemies know you better than your own family if the family isn’t in the business, and if you find yourself drawn to someone, things happen. It’s a big world we inhabit, but a small one we live in.” Joan explained and clicked the interior bolt shut with one snap of her wrist.

Gabriel leaned close to Seraphim, “This is how she excuses cheating on me.”

Joan’s face turned red, “I thought you were dead. We all did.”

“You sure moved on quick.” Gabriel pointed out, and Joan fell silent.

She brushed past them all, making a point to roughly bump her arm against Gabriel’s own while she took the front position. “This is the latest security. Konrad’s work.” Joan said, brushing the subject off and crouching down at the far end, “See how the floor blends in?”

Gabriel and a still flush-faced Seraphim approached her back and leaned over. “Yes… is there something amazing about it?” Seraphim inquired, her curiosity piqued.

“Lots of things, watch this.” Joan said and brushed her forefinger over the pale gray concrete surface, and for a moment nothing seemed to change. Her finger moved over it in a pentagram pattern, striking each corner in turn until it was back where it began, and then closing the star with a circle at the top.

The seemingly ordinary stone came to life in the form of a white glowing panel as wide as one person’s body. Joan then stood up, stepped back, and said, “Armageddon Evil. Fuck the saints.”

A green line came into view that went horizontally left to right, and the central line spiked up and down. “Acknowledged. Entry granted. Welcome to the ark.”

The panel then went dark and began to rise.

“Konrad is as impressive as ever.” Gabriel thought of the bespeckled young man in the other room that was probably setting up the jenga set again.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

“I’ll pass that along, I’m sure he’ll be pleased. Now come on, get down here. I’ll show you my handiwork.” Joan hopped down, grabbing a ladder and sliding all the way to the floor below.

Seraphim’s lips went tight, her body began to tremble just a little bit, she met Gabriel’s eyes.

‘It’s probably a little too confined looking, like being a prisoner again.’ He shut his eyes heavily and put a hand out on her shoulder, he gave it a squeeze, she didn’t withdraw from him, but she stiffened rather than relaxed.

“It’ll be fine, I’ll go first, Joan can be,” he leaned over the gap in the floor and raised his voice enough to be sure she heard him, “a real ice bitch-”

“I heard that!” Joan shouted from out of view.

“But you can trust her.” Gabriel insisted, “Just follow me when you’re ready.” As soon as he began to go down the ladder he wondered if he’d gone crazy. ‘I should have just barked at her to hurry up or something… must be being around Joan again. She always did help me relax.’ He told himself and shrugged the thought off in favor of looking around when he reached the bottom.

It was a far cry from the forest hideaway. There were a series of bunk beds secured against the wall, enough for eight people. Joan undid one from its chains and it fell with metal pulled taut, the mattress was barely hand thick, but it was still far better than the old military cot. A halogen light flickered overhead, and at the far end of the wall sat a desk and a computer. The whole place was clean of dust or dirt, and there was even a double wide fridge against the wall.

“You like?” Joan asked, behind him, Gabriel could hear the sound of feet tapping against metal rungs, but he focused on the slender woman in front of him. A few of her freckles vanished into the smirk of her smile and her bright green eyes were alight with expectation.

“It’s a damn sight cleaner than the one in the woods.” He acknowledged, with a reluctant, slow nod of approval.

“Yeah well, there’s ways to get down and dirty that are a lot of fun, and then there are those things that just make you want to take a long shower.” She said with a little smirk, “Your idea of a hideaway just wasn’t civilized enough for me.” She said and put her hands on her hips when she saw Seraphim come into view.

“Now listen,” Joan said, her smile vanished, she inhaled and exhaled several times, “I know you want to get out of town as soon as possible, but the truth is, you’re a jinn’s wish shy of making that happen. After our last communication I put in a call to The Monitor. It isn’t just the Theresans who you have to worry about.”

“Who else?” Gabriel asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he felt Seraphim’s breath quicken in fear and the caress of her every exhalation brushing against him like a sprinter who was about to overtake the man in front.

“Lots, the Therasans are good at gathering intel, but they don’t have the easiest time keeping it confined. Word is out about your little pet there,” Joan pointed an accusing finger at Seraphim, who instinctively shrunk under the accusing green eyes, “and I don’t know exactly why yet. The Orthodoxy want her, some pagan groups are after her, and yeah, there are both spirits and other angels after her.”

“After… me? Why me?! I can’t be that important!” Seraphim’s voice rose and she curled her toes under her feet.

“Honey, if I knew that already, I might reconsider what I’m doing.” Joan snorted, “Listen, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re stuck down here for a few days while Peter and I can arrange a plane, a boat, or a god damn unicycle or something for you.”

“So, we stay down here, out of sight, until you’re ready to move us?” Gabriel pressed.

“Won’t they catch us, I mean, find this place eventually?” Seraphim looked back at the ladder which led up into the darkness.

“No, the ceiling down here is lined with lead, there’s nothing they can use to look in that will show anything more than just thick rock going really deep.” Joan promised, “You’re as safe as you can be, at least until you’re gone, and not safe again.” Joan said and then turning on her heel, bouncing her red hair behind her back she added, “Let me show you a few more things, then you can settle in to boredom. I’ll put a few boardgames or something in the back for you, and check on you later tonight after closing. But without my say-so, stay here if you want to stay alive and free, get me?”

“Sure thing, Joan, lead the way.” Gabriel said, cutting off anything else Seraphim might add and following her to a far wall.