God's Gone AWOL

[2] Rainfall

Paris, France.

Unfortunately, there weren't a whole lot of safe places around. Earth and Purgatory were technically labeled as the neutral realms, however Earth was in more of a 'no-man's-land' sort of situation. Although it didn't belong to Heaven or Hell, it was historically used as a battlefield between the two. And Purgatory was off limits to everyone except for the dead. So the only places they could really hide were either: a pre-established common ground where fighting was prohibited, or somewhere that had been heavily warded with spells in order to keep angels and demons out. Atticus had enough time to cast a weak warding on himself, but it would have to be renewed every twenty-four hours. Warding an entire building would take a lot more time, effort and persistence, so he had settled for the easier option.

Luckily, the Cupboard was exactly the right type of place. Because it wasn't loyal to either Heaven or Hell, it had a very strong code of conduct which prohibited any sort of fighting beneath its roof and it was warded with anti-surveillance spells, making it a very safe common ground.

Fights between gangs rarely break out in grocery stores. Because grocery stores are common spaces that just about everyone needs to visit at some point and to start a fight in such a place would be shameful and inconvenient for everyone. The same logic was applied to the Cupboard, making it a sanctuary in the war. After the war had been put on halt, it still remained a safe space. And now that the fighting was starting up again, it was still the best place to hide someone.

And that someone in particular had been standing outside for nearly half an hour before Atticus joined her.

"You've taken care of Hazel?" Bentley asked as he closed the Cupboard's door behind him.

Atticus nodded. The two were standing beneath the awning, watching the continuous evening drizzle.

"Why did she have to be Haniel's descendant? Of all the millions of angels in existence, why does she have to be related to him?"

"What's the relationship between you and Haniel?" he asked.

"Not a good or particularly personal one," she replied. Then quickly added, "I didn't kill him though,"

"I know you didn't kill him. However, I would like to know who did,"

Although Haniel and Atticus were both angels, the former had been of an older generation. He could put a face to the name, but really nothing else. The two had never interacted much, and when he heard that Haniel had died, he had originally paid it no thought. After all, they were at war back then. Angels and demons were dying at each other's hands constantly. Atticus had no reason to know the extent of Bentley's involvement.

"I can't remember," she said, watching the raindrops bounce off the concrete in front of them.

Something about her tone was off-putting.

"I don't believe you,"

"I really can't!" Her big, innocent eyes turned to his, "If you really wanna know, Haniel died the same day as my sister. Don't blame me for cutting some memories if they don't do me any good,"

Oh. If it had to do with Lilith, Atticus wouldn't press any further.

He glanced at her, but she wouldn't look back at him again. Her arms were crossed and her lips were pressed tightly together. After everything that had happened in the past few hours, from being stabbed to kidnapped, there was no way Bentley wasn't at least a little upset. The memory of her holding the knife against his throat was still haunting him —especially since he couldn't determine how much of it had been for show. Ever since she had reappeared, the energy between them had been quite hostile on her end. Atticus desperately wanted to know what was going on inside her head.