Part 4, Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Lawrence, Kansas
"Stop the car," Judas said, suddenly.
Dean slammed on the breaks. "What the hell? We don't know how long Gabriel can--"
"He's not there," Judas interrupted. "I only see two haloes."
"...you can see haloes?"
He nodded. "It's been useful before." He bit his lip.
"So...what, you think they...?" He trailed off.
"I don't know. I don't think so. I think I'd know if he--" Judas took a deep breath. "I'm going in."
"What, head-on?"
Which, as Abba had pointed out, that was almost certainly a one-way trip, but, "I don't exactly have a better play right now. If it works, you'll know. If it doesn't..." He hesitated. "Give me two minutes, then...do whatever it is you'd do if Abba and I weren't here to help."
Before Dean could argue, Judas got out of the car and faded into shadow.
This was risky--even more than the last monumentally stupid move he'd pulled--but didn't really have much choice. He'd managed to slip past an archangel and a goddess who knew him personally before. Michael had never met him, so he had that slight advantage, at least in theory. It wasn't much, but he'd take what he could get.
There weren't nearly as many shadows outside at noon as there were on a dark and stormy night, of course, but Judas didn't actually need very much to hide himself. He was small, and quiet, and had spent years as a guerilla fighter and saboteur. With any luck, he'd be just as unworthy of notice here as he had been back in Indiana.
Unfortunately, today was proving no luckier than yesterday had been.
Michael, unlike Lucifer at the hotel, was actually paying attention.
And Michael, when he wanted to make a point, proved to be far crueler than Judas had ever imagined. He'd thought Lucifer's demons were creative--hell, he'd thought he himself was, in his own darkest moments, the first few centuries after Yeshua's death--but none of that compared to the pain Michael inflicted. And Michael, he was fairly certain, just wanted him out of the way.
A tree grew around him and through him, branches piercing him everywhere, growing through his chest and limbs and around his spine, keeping him trapped and bloody.
A part of him appreciated the exquisite irony of being nailed to a tree, even without any actual nails. But most of him just hurt.
And it wasn't even that it was unexpected, even if it was harsher than he'd dreamed--he knew enough about Heaven, Abba had told him enough stories about how brutal his oldest brother could be, he'd been prepared for pain if he got caught. But there was pain, and then there was pain.
But what really threw him was the fact that, while he waited to pass out--because at least he had that comfort--he could have sworn he heard Lucifer asking if that was really necessary.
He'd probably imagined it, though. No, he almost certainly had. Whatever sympathy Lucifer had pretended before, Judas knew how his uncle felt about anything that wasn't a pure angel. Lucifer hated humans, he hated demons, and a creature like Judas, who polluted angelic blood by mixing it with human...oh, yes, Lucifer would have destroyed him when he was done.
Though maybe Lucifer had enough genuine sympathy to grant Judas the mercy of a quick death, once he collected all the coins. Maybe that was what he meant. Judas could believe that.
Before he could confirm what he heard, or figure out his uncle's motives, he heard music, and a motor (though that might have just been the blood pounding in his ears), and he finally blacked out.
Previous: Part 4, Chapter 3 Next: Part 4, Chapter 5
Lawrence, Kansas
"Stop the car," Judas said, suddenly.
Dean slammed on the breaks. "What the hell? We don't know how long Gabriel can--"
"He's not there," Judas interrupted. "I only see two haloes."
"...you can see haloes?"
He nodded. "It's been useful before." He bit his lip.
"So...what, you think they...?" He trailed off.
"I don't know. I don't think so. I think I'd know if he--" Judas took a deep breath. "I'm going in."
"What, head-on?"
Which, as Abba had pointed out, that was almost certainly a one-way trip, but, "I don't exactly have a better play right now. If it works, you'll know. If it doesn't..." He hesitated. "Give me two minutes, then...do whatever it is you'd do if Abba and I weren't here to help."
Before Dean could argue, Judas got out of the car and faded into shadow.
This was risky--even more than the last monumentally stupid move he'd pulled--but didn't really have much choice. He'd managed to slip past an archangel and a goddess who knew him personally before. Michael had never met him, so he had that slight advantage, at least in theory. It wasn't much, but he'd take what he could get.
There weren't nearly as many shadows outside at noon as there were on a dark and stormy night, of course, but Judas didn't actually need very much to hide himself. He was small, and quiet, and had spent years as a guerilla fighter and saboteur. With any luck, he'd be just as unworthy of notice here as he had been back in Indiana.
Unfortunately, today was proving no luckier than yesterday had been.
Michael, unlike Lucifer at the hotel, was actually paying attention.
And Michael, when he wanted to make a point, proved to be far crueler than Judas had ever imagined. He'd thought Lucifer's demons were creative--hell, he'd thought he himself was, in his own darkest moments, the first few centuries after Yeshua's death--but none of that compared to the pain Michael inflicted. And Michael, he was fairly certain, just wanted him out of the way.
A tree grew around him and through him, branches piercing him everywhere, growing through his chest and limbs and around his spine, keeping him trapped and bloody.
A part of him appreciated the exquisite irony of being nailed to a tree, even without any actual nails. But most of him just hurt.
And it wasn't even that it was unexpected, even if it was harsher than he'd dreamed--he knew enough about Heaven, Abba had told him enough stories about how brutal his oldest brother could be, he'd been prepared for pain if he got caught. But there was pain, and then there was pain.
But what really threw him was the fact that, while he waited to pass out--because at least he had that comfort--he could have sworn he heard Lucifer asking if that was really necessary.
He'd probably imagined it, though. No, he almost certainly had. Whatever sympathy Lucifer had pretended before, Judas knew how his uncle felt about anything that wasn't a pure angel. Lucifer hated humans, he hated demons, and a creature like Judas, who polluted angelic blood by mixing it with human...oh, yes, Lucifer would have destroyed him when he was done.
Though maybe Lucifer had enough genuine sympathy to grant Judas the mercy of a quick death, once he collected all the coins. Maybe that was what he meant. Judas could believe that.
Before he could confirm what he heard, or figure out his uncle's motives, he heard music, and a motor (though that might have just been the blood pounding in his ears), and he finally blacked out.
Previous: Part 4, Chapter 3 Next: Part 4, Chapter 5