Accordant

Chapter Fourteen

They met at the river, just beyond the French Quarter. Michael, Raphael, and Uriel waited on the boardwalk, and about a kilometer away, Mercy trained with her instructor.

"Welcome back, brother," Uriel said as Raphael stepped forward and hugged Gabriel. "Heaven has missed you."

"We have missed you," Michael added.

"And I've missed you," Gabriel said a little too curtly. At first, Jael thought he was still upset about Proctiel, but seeing the look in his eyes, decided that he must have flashed back to killing his brothers' doppelgängers in the Hellhole.

Raphael noticed his odd tone as well, but Uriel said, "Then you'll be glad to know that we are close to concluding this mission. We expect to have you back in Heaven by Christmas."

Gabriel looked gratified, and his brothers accepted this. Jael looked closer and found behind that gratified look a touch of disdain.

Christmas was a touchy subject in Heaven. For one, the date was nowhere near being correct. For another, humans seemed more inclined to observe the date by supporting gross consumerism. But Jael was not wholly convinced that Gabriel's disdain was directed at the upcoming holiday.

Michael shot Uriel a look of mild disapproval. "That's less than a week away. You've established a rather short and ambitious timeline for our brother's work."

"It's true, isn't it?" Uriel shrugged. "Mercy has already informed us that the Nephilim Council plans to move on Christmas Eve. Therefore, we will be done by then."

Gabriel pursed his lips.

"Besides, Proctiel has already made remarkable strides in putting together a counter to the Nephilim's plan." Uriel waved Gabriel forward. "Let's go and speak with him."

"Hold a moment, brother," Raphael said.

"Why? We are going to speak with him nonetheless," Uriel said over his shoulder, still headed toward the Dominion.

"I said hold," Raphael snapped. Uriel stopped and paid attention.

"Gabriel," Michael said, turning to his fallen brother. "It has come to our notice that you may not be comfortable with the way we arranged this mission."

"I have no complaints," Gabriel said.

Michael looked unconvinced. "It's been a trying time for you, and you have been away for some time. We understand if things appear to be other than what they are."

"All appears well," Gabriel said.

"Gabriel," Raphael said. "We know that you believe we have appointed Proctiel to replace you."

"I do not," Gabriel said.

"Well, be assured that you are right," Michael said. "He has not taken your place in any way. He has only been helping us manage the workload across Creation."

"He is to be commended," Gabriel said.

"Stop it," Raphael snapped.

There was truth to Michael's words, after all. It took all four archangels, with the help of the middle managers, to mediate or battle the various elements that presented constant threats to Creation. Sometimes they were challenges from ancient powers, such as the old gods. Sometimes they were disasters on other planes. Sometimes an Eccentric got bored.

With Gabriel gone, the other three archangels found themselves stretched too thin. All of the high-ranking angels had connections to Gabriel, though, so the archangels reached out to a Dominion who had no such connections. The best option was Proctiel, a rather finicky angel whose humanoid form called to mind uncanny-valley movies starring blond men as androids.