Eutopia - Apocalypse

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

                The War Room hadn’t been used to spearhead a war since before the End, but the name had stuck somehow. It was to that heavily wood-panelled room that Jinn had been summoned by Gabriel, who was now occupying one of the six seats at the broad round table in the centre. Jinn’s heavy boots echoed bluntly as he crossed the threshold, the sound bouncing back at him from the bare floorboards and the dark red walls that always made him feel oppressed.

He strode through the room without greeting the other two men seated opposite each other at the expansive table and threw open the French doors, causing the veil-like curtain that hung there to whip wildly into the night, as though it was making a break for freedom. The tapered candles clustered in the silver candelabra flickered for a moment, throwing crazy shadows that danced on the walls.

‘What’s the situation in the Wold’s?’ Gabriel asked and Jinn turned to find his level brown gaze fixed curiously upon him. Sat as he was, slouched easily in the straight-backed chair, Gabriel’s long limbs were tucked neatly beneath the table-top which made him look shorter than he was. One elbow rested on the highly polished mahogany surface, his pale and slender finger lay thoughtfully across his top lip and his black brows were knitted together in an expression Jinn knew to be deep interest.

‘Nothing. There is nothing to report.’

The broad, hulking figure of Uriel made to rise from his chair as his sandy hair, absorbing the red hue of the room in the candlelight, seemed to blaze upon his head.

‘That cannot be,’ he said in his low, gravelly tone. ‘How can there be nothing to report? The Nightwatch noted something of interest.’ Uriel moved his hand across the table towards Jinn, who noticed the other man’s fingers splayed spider-like on a manila file that he slid a little way towards him.

Jinn came to stand beside Gabriel, his eyes on the coal-black stare of Uriel as he reached across to pick the file up from the table and flip it open. Uriel was leaning back in his chair, watching, as thick fingers steepled and lay lightly against his lips that were pursed beneath his closely trimmed auburn beard.

‘I know Christopher well,’ Jinn said, finally, running a hand across his own smooth chin, finishing the short hand-written report from the Watch Commander. ‘I would have no qualms usually in accepting what he says, but I must rebut his account. I didn’t see anyone. Michael has had who he believes to be the intelligence behind this plot watched extensively throughout the day these past few months. The Watchers have noted deliberate and repetitive movements from the Wolds which was believed to be suspicious, but the Nightwatch have failed to detect any movement at night. They know it’s more than their life’s worth.’ Again, a flash of deep blue streaked through his mind. He knew they knew it was more than their life’s worth to be roaming around at night, so what was worth that risk?

Obviously that was Michael’s intention, for Jinn to find out, but he had his own reasons for wanting to know. He could see himself reflected wide in the girl’s bright, terrified eyes. There was a passion behind them that he would never forget, which had awoken some archaic creature in him that had, until that moment, lain dormant for some time. She had glared back at him insolently despite the waiver in her voice as she had whispered a profanity. It was the insolence that intrigued him the most, Jinn decided. He was unsure whether to feel angry about it or amused.

Jinn caught the minute shake of Uriel’s head as the two seated men locked eyes. Gabriel cleared his throat and straightened up in his chair.

‘Jinn,’ there was a softly exasperated edge to Gabriel’s voice, a tired acceptance behind his words as though he had expected his answer. The look that had passed between Gabriel and Uriel had not gone unnoticed by Jinn, and his dark eyes flashed brightly. ‘This isn’t going to happen again. For Michael to be concerned enough to station the Watch directly on these people, there must be something going on. Something that we should all be concerned about. You’ve been charged with an extremely important sanction, one that releases you from the guardian duties at Hiera that you were relegated to after the last time. Don’t fuck this up.’ Gabriel’s brown eyes were warm and earnest but Jinn’s frown was dark. His hand moved to grip the sword at his side and Uriel was instantly on his feet, his thick fingers flexed as the prominent muscles in his neck twitched. The red room was suddenly flooded with a crackling tension almost as audible as the hum had been from Alastor.

‘We have no quarrel with you, Jinn.’  

‘Then don’t make me angry,’ he spat at Gabriel, who hadn’t moved an inch from his chair. He was still sat, nonchalantly leaning with one elbow on the table and his bright, brown eyes calm. Uriel, however, was practically spitting lightning bolts as his black eyes locked furiously with Jinn’s and he reached for the unwieldy sword that shimmered with a heat-haze at his side. He was as quick to rile as Jinn was and their actions were of no surprise, or concern, to Gabriel.

‘Enough.’ Gabriel’s tone was sharp but long-suffering. Jinn and Uriel could rarely occupy a room without erupting over something. ‘We’re not here to thrash out what has gone before. If you are to continue with this task, Jinn, you must give us nothing but honesty. What you uncover could bring about the fall of our kind. There is… knowledge… that could help them in any fight against us that they may be plotting. This is what Michael is concerned about.’

Uriel had reclaimed his seat, though reluctantly, his fiery glare was still levelled at Jinn and the bulk of his well-muscled shoulders were set. Build for build Jinn and Uriel would be an even match, but Jinn had seen the full extent of the damage Uriel’s sword could do.

‘There is something you are being entrusted to keep.’

‘I thought I was being released from my Guardianship?’ Crossing his arms across the great barrel of his chest, Jinn glanced at the red stripes on his uniform. His feet were planted heavily apart, the wisp of a curtain billowing around him from the open doors behind, making him look like one of those comic-book superheroes from long ago. Gabriel’s thin lips twitched very slightly at the thought.

‘You are. In a sense.’

Uriel grinned as he watched the fury flicker like a flame across the face of his comrade.

‘Petra can explain that part in more detail,’ Gabriel waved that point to one side with an elegant, tapered hand, ignoring the crimson flecks that began to glow like embers in Jinn’s eyes.

‘Petra?’ Jinn hissed.

‘Yes?’ the musical lilt of her voice, as bright and golden as her eyes, slipped effortlessly into his ears as the beautiful woman entered the room without knocking. She was a vivid vision in the candlelight and she was well aware of it. The warm luminosity of the candles seeped into her sheer robs, infusing the fabric with light and emphasised the perfect contours of her body as she stepped towards the table.  Jinn knew she was relishing the fall of every eye on her as she flipped her flaxen braid, sparkling with its lapis lazuli flowers, from one shoulder to the other. As a scribe she didn’t get much chance to mix with the other Angels, at least, not the ones she considered worthy of mixing with. It was a position she bore begrudgingly.

 Petra was a scribe to the Guardians, Jinn’s scribe since he had been relegated back to Hiera from the Army. She beamed beatifically at Uriel, who smirked appreciatively back.

‘Petra, you have been the Keeper of Records for the House of Hiera for the last few Millennia. As such, you have been charged with keeping records of the written word since the beginning of the end. I trust you have kept Athena well?’ Gabriel asked.

‘I have, sir.’ Petra inclined her beautiful head with a self-satisfied smile.

‘Then we will leave you to acquaint Jinn with it.’ He motioned to Uriel as he stood, turning to address Jinn at the door. ‘You will report to the Wold’s first thing tomorrow morning.’

Jinn couldn’t deny he felt a spark of something at that order, as that glittering sapphire hue invaded his thoughts again, but his scowl was still dark as he watched Uriel follow behind Gabriel with a smug smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and his black eyes lingering on Petra as he left.

The light, cool touch of Petra’s fingertips drew his attention back to her. Her golden eyes danced as she whispered, ‘I have something for you.’