Chapter 44: Hunting Moriarty, part 5

"Harry, care to answer a couple of questions? The demon I was summoned with didn't know much," Harry would have preferred if the thing called him Harold again. Only those he cared about had the right to call him Harry.

"You would trust the words of a demon?" Harry asked, Moriarty shrugged.

"Normally, no. You are all liars. But in this case, with your angel cake at my mercy, and this cherub as extra insurance? By the way, did you see the rest of the children?" Moriarty asked, switching the subject.

"They are all home and healed," Harry snapped, and Moriarty chuckled.

"You worked fast. It was pure luck on my side that I managed to get little Hugo down here," Moriarty kissed the baby's head, and rocked him back and forth. Hugo didn't stop crying. As if sensing the foulness of the creature who held him.

"My, but he has a set of lungs on him. I wonder if they will be tasty?" Moriarty licked his lips, and Harry stiffened. He caught Tagas's eyes, who was looking at him with big, pleading, eyes.

Harry knew what the angel wanted. For him to save Hugo, and get him back to Greta. But, in the time Harry would go there and back, Moriarty could do anything he wanted to Tagas. He couldn't let it happen.

"You know, I would have taken dear Jake and Andrew as well, but the three angels each that were looking after them gave out a menacing aura as soon as they felt me. Did they tip you off, Harry?" Moriarty asked, and Harry nodded. He figured that, if he kept the leviathan talking, then the thing was not hurting Hugo or Tagas.

"They told me, I told the boss. Then, we found out you snatched the children. After that, it was easy to trace you," Harry said.

"Yet, you couldn't have known I would take them to Tagas?" Moriarty asked, his brows knitted.

"You are overconfident. Where else would you have taken them?" Harry asked. Moriarty chuckled at that, and rocked Hugo some more.

"Ah, guilty as charged. Maybe I should have gotten the children to the place where you found young Kristi? She would have had a shock, to be in the same place as before," Moriarty chuckled.

Kristi had been the most scared and broken over being kidnapped again. She had been shaking and clutching her stomach, when Harry found the children.

"Look, as we speak, Lucifer is sending over his most trusted. You will pay for this," Harry said, trying to keep the leviathan talking.

"And their orders would be to save Tagas here," Moriarty gave Tagas a dazzling smile, and licked his lips. "But not Hugo. Or you, for that matter."

"What are you..." Harry began, but then chains snapped from the floor, and he fell down.

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Hugo, here dies, if neither of you answer my questions," Moriarty smiled then, and looked at Harry again. "As you are the most talkative one, I will ask you.  Is God gone?"

Harry bit his lips. If he confirmed it to the thing, then it could go back to his brethren with the information.

"No," Harry lied, and Moriarty's eyes widened.

"For true now, Harry, dear. Babies are fragile. The only thing I need to do is drop him to the floor," Moriarty said, and he jostled Hugo to prove his point.

"He is not gone," Harry said. He didn't believe that God could be dead, or something similar. Tagas opened his mouth to speak, as Moriarty began to shift Hugo in his arms.

"No one knows where father is," Tagas spoke the truth. Moriarty looked to him.

"See? Wasn't so hard, now, was it? Now, next question: Is Michael still the leader of the angels? And, is Lucifer still the ruler of Hell?" Moriarty directed this question to Tagas this time. He walked to him, and placed Hugo on the table next to the angel. Tagas reached out, and supported the baby, so the boy wouldn't roll off the table.

"Yes, they are," Tagas said. This was common knowledge. Moriarty then hummed.

"That complicates things. They are both archangels. Used to give me quite a bit of trouble, before Lucifer rebelled. Now, for the final question: In how many pieces do you want to end up as?" Moriarty smirked down at Tagas, and he edged towards him. Hugo began to cry louder. "Do stop your crying, cherub, or I'll snap your little neck."

Tagas then placed some of his grace in the boy, making him fall asleep. Most of his grace was restricted by the chains, but he could move some a little.

"Leave Hugo out of this," Tagas begged.

"Show me your wings, and I will. I have a theory to prove," Moriarty said, and Tagas unfurrow his wings. Moriarty took in the scent of apples, and then the blue color.

"You are a different type of angel," Moriarty said. He petted the soft feathers, earning a whimper from Tagas. "Something special. A masterpiece."

Moriarty could have said more, but then he was hit over the head. Harry was behind him, and holding a chair. Tagas shielded the baby with his body as good as he could, and watched as Harry and Moriarty began to fight one another.

Moriarty tried to chain Harry again, but the demon dodged. Tagas looked at the old chains, and saw arms dangling from them. With a start, he realized Harry must have torn off his own arms to get free. Silently too. Or, maybe under an illusion. Finally, Harry punched through Moriarty's chest, and took out his black heart. There was black smoke oozing from it.

"Ah, shit," Moriarty said, when he fell down. Then, much to Tagas's amazement, Harry began to eat the heart. He finished it in a record time, and hit his chest a couple of times, to force it down.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked, when he limped to Tagas. "Is Hugo hurt?"

"Hugo is fine. I am already healing," Tagas said. Harry began to tug the angel's jeans back on. He unchained him, even though it was hard breaking the chains open. Then, with Tagas having Hugo in his arms, they teleported to the boy's house.

It was still night, so everyone was asleep. Tagas placed the cherub down in the crib, and then plucked a blue feather from his own wings.

"Be blessed, Hugo. You didn't see a thing. It was all a bad dream," Tagas ran the feather over the boy's forehead, and then left it under the pillow.