Free The Rise of the Fallen (The Angelic Wars Book 2) by J.J. Thompson

he was fixed in human form, he was, for all practical
purposes, just a human being. If we'd been traveling at night, I
shudder to think what might have happened.”
    He seemed to consider that
for a moment. “Doesn't make him sound very bright though, does
it? Hmm, perhaps one day we can use that to our advantage.”
    “ Your honor?”
came Beatrice's voice from a seat behind them. “What exactly is
going on, anyway? We've been fighting the Fallen for years. But we've
never had even a hint that the Four Horsemen had been unleashed.”
    The judge raised himself
slightly and looked over his shoulder at her. “Good point,
Beatrice. I was going to mention that myself.”
    He sat down again and
looked first at Natalie and then at Chris.
    “ Something has
changed in our war, I believe. Perhaps it was the defeat of Lilith.
Hell would have received word of that from their servants fairly
quickly. Or maybe our adversary has finally reached such a position
of power that he is confident enough to begin his end game.”
    “ End game?”
Chris asked, not sure what the man meant.
    “ His final push for
dominion over the world,” the judge replied evenly. Chris was
chilled by the simple statement.
    “ Well, I have a more
practical question, your honor,” came the gruff voice of
George. “Since we beat him, is that the last we've seen of this
Askalon? I mean, we know his true name now, don't we?”
    Judge Hawkes got up
abruptly and stood in the aisle. He looked around at each person,
catching each eye as if reassuring himself. Chris wasn't sure what he
was thinking.
    “ No, we did not beat
him. We sent him back to his 'father' in defeat. I doubt that his
reception will be a joyful one. But he will return. And now, the
Devil knows that we have access to a source that knows the names of
his sons. He will wonder. He may begin to work out the fact that we
have an archangel on our side.” He paused for emphasis. “And
if he does, he will throw everything that he has at us. Not just
those of us assembled here, but against all of our people,
everywhere.”
    He frowned and pulled out
his cell again.
    “ I'm going to send
out a general text to all of our safe-houses. They will have to ramp
up security. From now on, no one enters any of them without being
vetted first.” He looked around for a moment, “I'll join
Chef up front and bring him up to speed. The rest of you, relax for a
bit. We'll be landing at Heathrow in about thirty minutes.”
    He gave them all a general
smile and then headed off for the cockpit.
    When everyone had quieted
down, Chris looked over at Natalie to find her staring at him.
    “ What?”
    “ Nothing. I was just
wondering how you're doing.”
    Chris smiled wanly. “I'm
fine, Nat. You're the one that got beat up. I just stood there,
useless.”
    He looked through the
window over her shoulder. “I just hope that Sariel gets back
soon. Without him, I'm just a thirteen year old runt who couldn't
fight his way out of a paper bag.”
    “ Please don't feel
sorry for yourself,” Natalie said sharply.
    He looked back at her in
surprise.
    “ I really don't have
time for people like that, and I don't think you normally are. Sariel
will be back when he gets back. That's it. But you still have a
working brain, don't you? All your parts are intact, aren't they?”
    Her sarcastic tone made
Chris blush, but he didn't bother to answer her obviously rhetorical
questions.
    “ Good enough,”
she said with a nod, apparently reading something on his face. “So
let's think about what's happened, listen to the reports from our
people from around the world when they come in, and maybe work on a
strategy to use on these bastards. Because I agree with the judge;
they're just getting started.”
    With that last,
uncomfortable statement, Natalie turned her face away, closed her
eyes and seemed to fall asleep almost instantly.
    Well, Chris thought. That
put me in my place. She's right though. I'm alive and well, so far,
unlike