As he said it, I felt myself slide forward. I realized I was levitating. She opened her arms and a calm inevitably settled over me, like the warm feeling of one whose throat or wrists have been slit. I would go to her and lose my soul and be no more. And why not? It seemed the most reasonable thing on earth.

Lucifer was saying something. I was within touching distance of Lilith before the words registered.

They were Latin. I caught the phrase "in nomine Patris." Forcing myself to look away from Lilith, I saw that Lucifer was making the sign of the cross.

From the body language and general tone of voice, I figured he was giving it some Rite of Exorcism. If Lucifer conducting an exorcism was strange (I had to keep reminding myself he was on the side of the angels — well, the non-conspiratorial ones, anyway), what happened next was weirdsville to the Nth degree.

Howling, Lilith shrank as the aura retracted. Her hair lost its luster, turning gray as it molted, each strand becoming dust as it fell to the carpet. Liver spots appeared on skin that was jaundiced and saggy. Her eyes rolled with narcoleptic torpor in dark, sunken sockets from which she started to bleed. She bled from mouth and ears, too, thick black gouts of foul-smelling liquid. Then her skin, shriveling further, became torn and was shed.

The howling stopped and what fell to the floor was recognizably the anorexic young pop singer.

"You bastard!"

We turned.

The archangel Michael was standing in the doorway. There were others behind him.
AIBs.

And, boy, did they looked pissed at what had happened to their dear old ma.

"The balcony," Lucifer hissed. "Jump for it."

I hit the picture window at a run, glass everywhere and a hollow feeling in my stomach. I spread my wings, the jacket ripping. Rising again, I saw an intense white light fill the penthouse. The other windows shattered.

Lucifer's name meant "bearer of light."

Streams of brilliance poured out of the apartment block and streaked in all directions across the London skyline. One threw me off balance, and I plummeted into the cold miserable waters of the Thames.

---

Two hours later, dried out and supremely pissed off, I extended my wings and let the metropolis fall away beneath me. I played merry hell with air traffic control that day, let me tell you.

Lucifer had sacrificed himself. For me. I doubt it was much consolation to him that he'd taken those S.O.B.'s with him.

I had to finish this thing. I owed him that much at least.

Clouds formed around me and then were lost as I gained greater altitude. Starlight and silence. Then the Threshold opened and I steered myself towards it.

No matter how many times I crossed it, the initial surge of whiteness was blinding. I closed my eyes in anticipation.

Something cannoned into me. Or rather, someone. My eyelids snapped open as we spiraled through the stratosphere, the Gatekeeper and I. My last impression of the Threshold was a row of AIBs standing sentinel just inside it.

"They're everywhere," he said. "You've no chance of getting back in."

"I have to."

The Gatekeeper slammed his pint glass down angrily. We were sitting in the Nottingham pub I'd taken Rossiter to after I'd saved his life.

"Why?" he demanded. "What can you do?"

"Blow the whole thing wide open," I said grimly.

"Reality check, Carter. You're one angel against a hierarchy!"

I shook my head. "Against a conspiracy. There's seven of them. Eight if you count Lilith. I'm guessing she and Michael were an item from the start. I'm starting to think it's Michael who's father to the AIBs and not Adam."

"But still," he said, "you're one angel against seven archangels and a female demon."

"Six archangels," I replied. "Lucifer took care of Michael and Lilith."

"And you can handle the others?" His tone was mocking. "You'd need an army to storm back into Heaven and take those bad boys on."

"Congratulations," I said. "You're the first recruit."

---

That was a week ago.

I don't like it down here. There's fear and mistrust and apathy and crime. It pisses me off that I'll have to contend with more of the same when I go back to Heaven.

But believe me, I am going back.

Me and the Gatekeeper, we've been making contact with lost, fallen and banished angels on a daily basis. Angels who know the real story. Who know what we have to face. Gamaliel is with us. We're using Rossiter's pad as a base of operations.

I'm confident that when we've unmasked the conspirators, an army of angels — as well as the other choirs — will rise against them. Overthrow the AIBs. Restore the righteous to power.

It might take awhile, but no matter. Eternity is plenty long enough to set things straight.