Kate entered the cat room in the library and got comfortable on one of the couches. She was instantly buried under the Hell cat Rin, who had slept beside the couch on the fluffy part of the carpet.

“Well, hello.” Kate began petting the large cat who responded with a gentle purr. While Kate could read Rin’s mind to see what she liked, all Hell cats eventually learned that being quite vocal with the demons was a good idea.

“Always good to find you here you amazing fluffball. Especially when I haven’t found the thing I was looking for out there between the shelves.” Kate sighed. “Looks like we actually are missing that one tome.”

Rin didn’t quite know what Kate was talking about but found it quite bothersome that the place that usually had everything was missing something.

“I know, right? That just sucks.”

Rin agreed.

“I need to tell Polly later that we have to rob the angelic vault thingie… well, at least I get to see the heavens.”

Rin found it quite easy to break into places, but didn’t like doing it. Hopefully the demon felt the same way.

“Yea, not a fan of that idea but what choice do we have? Gabriel isn’t going to hand us the tome voluntarily.”

But what if he did?

“What do you mean?”

Rin often tried to get some treats and snuggles by looking and acting extra cute.

“Yea, but we can’t just look cute to convince the guy currently trying to unite the second most powerful group in the three worlds under him to give us his fancy book.”

Rin tilted her head. Gabriel was only in charge of the second most powerful group. Weren’t the demons supposed to be more powerful?

Kate paused and narrowed her eyes. “What are you implying?”

Rin would just hiss at Gabriel until he got scared, or whatever the demon military equivalent of hissing is.

“So, you think we should just show up in full force and demand the tome?”

Rin wouldn’t go all out, she doesn’t like fighting, but hissing would work.

“Just showing our serious intent to fuck shit up… last time they got their arses kicked it was just the inquisitorium, maybe if we… oh. That would be fun. Thank you, Rin. I have something to ask Polly later.”

 

 

“Let me just summarize so I don’t misunderstand you. You want the chariot and a group of highly trained volunteers, preferably inquisitors, to teleport to Celestis and demand from Gabriel that he returns the stolen tome.”

“Exactly!” Kate grinned at Apollyon.

“And if he isn’t intimidated enough?”

“Then we beat him up and take the book by force, which would have been the original plan anyway. At least this way, we might get it back without fighting or, at the very least, put some dents in his reputation. God took power with the promise to keep the heavens safe and secure, if Gabriel wants to use the same tag lines, our sudden appearance would sour his plans.”

“I will discuss this with Azazel and Freya. I am sure she would want to be involved if we used the chariot.”

“There is no rush, and the plan needs to be well thought out. Might even be better to do it next year, give everyone time to prepare and let Gabriel feel safe.”

“I agree. Still, anyone involved should be informed very soon.”

“Yes, of course.”

 

Kokabiel shifted around uncomfortably on Kate’s couch. The freshly minted demon clearly wasn’t used to being invited anywhere.

Kate returned from the kitchen and placed two steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the table. “There you go, something delicious that always makes me feel better. I hope you like it.”

“Th-thank you. And thank you again for letting me into your home.”

“It’s a bit more relaxed than the library office and you get a little taste of what is possible now.”

“It’s good to get some idea what homes look like in Hell. I don’t know what I want from mine.”

“I took a while to figure everything out too, there is no rush here. Before I start rambling too much about home décor, you wanted to talk to me about something.”

Kokabiel nodded. “Yes, I wanted to ask two questions that are quite personal. I don’t want to discuss those matters with anyone else.”

“Sounds ominous, go ahead.”

“When we first met, why did you trust me? As a watcher, I can sense intrusions into my mind. You trusted me with only a surface glance at my thoughts. It would have been easy to deceive you.”

“I was prepared to fight you properly, but I just hoped that you were truthful. I told you back then that I didn’t hate you as a person, and that was the truth. Besides being of the same species as a few duplicitous characters, which isn’t a reason to distrust you, you gave me no reason to think you were lying to me.”

“I see. When we came to the library, and once Athena had explained how a demon could help in our fall, I expected you to volunteer to assist us. You were eager to accept us but let Athena be the one we could anchor to. Why?”

Kate frowned. “I want to say it was because I didn’t know how to do all that, which is true but not the reason I didn’t jump at the chance to just try. It was because I’m a hypocrite. My experience with Arakiel coloured my expectations of angels and I was afraid of letting any being from the heavens connect with me in that magical way, even if it was just for a brief moment. In that moment, I didn’t trust you despite being able to just drill into your mind to make sure I could and you not giving me a reason to distrust you in the first place. I let my prejudice guide me. I’m sorry, that was wrong of me.”

Kokabiel looked at the mug she had just picked up. “I understand more than I would wish to admit. If our roles had been reversed, I wouldn’t have volunteered either for the same reason. Our interaction at the needle was truly positive and my decision to fall once Tariel had suggested that option was based on that, but my previous interaction with a demon was painful. The old general, lady Apollyon, struck me down during the second war. She didn’t even pay attention to me, I was merely in the way and an enemy to her. Neither of us chose each other as enemies yet she killed me. My experiences here in Hell have been nothing but reassuring, and still my mind wanders back to that time whenever I see her. And you are so very close to her.”

“Do you hold it against her?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Most of what I will imply is for her to tell you, but you should know that she has regrets about that war. She dissolved the armies because of what she did. Would you believe me that it would benefit you both to talk about it?”

“I would believe that.”

“Do you want to do that? I can call her here right now.”

Kokabiel took a long sip before answering. “Please do.”

 

Apollyon rested her face in her hands. The exchange of words between her and Kokabiel had been brief but both said what they needed to say and what the other needed to hear. The fallen angel spoke first after minutes of silence.

“I never expected that a single apology could mean so much to me. I am grateful.”

Apollyon looked up at Kokabiel. “My apology is not enough, not for me. I want to do more for you, but I will not force my help on you. Call on me for whatever you may need.”

“That is very generous and I will accept that offer by asking for an answer to a question that has been bothering me since before the wars and by asking for assistance in choosing what my home shall be like.”

“I will do my best to fulfil both. What answer do you seek?”

“Nearing the end of the human template cooperation, Gabriel came to me. My job as a watcher was always to observe and take note of every event pertaining to what I was told to observe. My magical ability is to discern details that are otherwise invisible. I could see that Gabriel had been killed and had just revived moments before speaking to me. I had taken note of a third, an unknown that had struck him down. He ordered me to erase any mention of that incident. I complied. I believe you do not censor your archives like that and maybe know who and what that unknown was.”

“For the moment, that knowledge must remain a secret, but you know about it already. There is no harm in you knowing another detail. That entity was a fae. What you just said about Gabriel being struck down is something we didn’t know. We knew a fae fought an angel here in Hell, that was all. The fact that the angel in question was Gabriel is troubling.”

Kate nodded. “Did he tell you to redact anything else?”

Kokabiel sighed. “Yes. Gabriel was not involved with the human template before that point but showed great interest in its progress afterwards. It was after the Eden temples had been shut down that I made a note of what he said to Uriel, that he had information that could cause God’s followers to leave him, to cause his powerbase to crumble. I was told to erase any mention of such information. Gabriel never used that information and he did speak the truth to Uriel about having it, I was able to confirm that much.”

“I remember God united the courts under himself after proving his near perfect immortality, among other things, by letting himself get killed in the heavens and reviving. Do you think Gabriel had plans to remove God before he ever rose to that height?”

“That would be a reasonable assumption, yes. God’s enhanced immortality and his position above Gabriel would have made the usage of whatever he had against his former fellow archangel pointless. The other angels would follow God over Gabriel no matter what.”

“And now that God’s gone and the other courts are in disarray, it’s the perfect time to consolidate power. That’s why he needed that tome gone. The fact that we are digging around in the history that could prevent Gabriel from uniting the heavens again is mere coincidence.”

“No coincidence. You freed Lilith, which causes you to attempt unravelling your mystery and Gabriel to hasten his plans. Both are caused by Lilith.”

“By what she knows, yes. That’s why Jolene was so intent on pushing this path. If he didn’t free her now, Gabriel might have done his thing before we ever got to asking any questions. She always desired the best path for everyone involved and now that we have secured the best path for us on this side of the border world, we are doing the same for the heavens.”

“Who is Jolene?”

“Long story, I will tell it to you over dinner in a bit.”

Apollyon nodded. “Dinner is a good plan. I will cook for you both and after the Jolene story has been told, we should turn to more enjoyable topics. Like your home.”

Kokabiel was beaming was anticipation. “I would love that!”