God's Gone AWOL

[5] Odd Partnership

Heaven.

Unlike the councillors of Hell, most powerful angels actually used the offices and workplaces provided to them. Camael certainly used hers when she wasn't busy committing war crimes out on the battlefield. And today happened to be one of those rare occasions.

"Have you spoken to any of the archangels about this plan?" she asked Nathaniel.

He was staring out the window at the vast sky. An endless sea of blue brushing against an endless mountain range of sun-kissed clouds, blushing pink in Heaven's never ending dawn.

"The archangels no longer care about ensuring that we win the war," he replied, "They've become passive since the peace agreement,"

"Gabriel is noble. He has never liked going against his word." Camael nodded. "So are we going to go ahead with the invasion without telling him anything?"

"He will thank us once justice has properly prevailed,"

A light knock on the door quickly cut the conversation short and Uriah, one of Camael's loyal choir members, stepped gracefully into the office.

"Sister Camael, Brother Nathaniel." he saluted.

"What is it?" Camael commanded, "Speak quickly,"

Uriah nodded respectfully.

"Atticus' self-warding has warn off. We have finally been able to locate him,"

Nathaniel and Camael quickly glanced at each other.

"That child used to be under your jurisdiction," he said, "I suggest you collect him as soon as possible,"

"Where is he?" Camael asked.

"He is in Paris, France. However, a strong demonic energy has also been detected in the same area. I'm afraid that if we don't seek him out this very moment, someone else will find him before we do,"

"Send out some angels to go collect him," She told her subordinate, "Make sure you protect him and the item he's carrying at all costs,"

Paris, France.

When Xander arrived at the Cupboard, he was surprised to see that it was closed. Over the door was a hastily written paper sign that read "VERY BIG EMERGENCY!! COME BACK LATER!" followed by a crudely drawn smiley face at the bottom of the page. He let out an exasperated sigh, then hammered his fist on the door anyway.

Of course there was no answer.

Rolling his eyes, Xander turned away and started wandering down the street. If something really had come up and they were too busy to even open the door, then oh well. That meant he didn't have to get involved. He'd wander around until he found something acceptable to kill or maim or otherwise destroy, then he'd come back later if the store was open again. Whatever this "very big emergency" was, he would probably be better off several thousand kilometres away from it.

It was evening already. The sun was on the cusp of setting, but it wasn't completely down yet —unfortunately. It was the golden hour. That wretched time when the sky shone with the gleaming finale of a day well spent. When everything was supposed to look beautiful amidst the warm haze, but in reality, the sun was just too low in the sky for Xander to block out, thus making it more obnoxious than aesthetically pleasing. The sun was the worst. Xander hated the sun. If he was physically powerful enough, he'd take the stupid thing down and stomp on it's burning surface until it was a giant supernova. However, that would probably cause more issues than solve them, so the sun remained where it was.

And on top of the sun, there were lots of humans out and about, most of them returning from their dismal nine-to-fives. Xander also didn't like humans at all. They all smelled like body odor, or perfume, or scented soaps, or just random things that they had interacted with throughout the day. They always spoke loudly, and were all obsessed with themselves and their own security without once even noticing the entire world beyond their noses. And there were also the cars which littered the streets, weaving in and out of Paris' notoriously tight-knit buildings, polluting the air further with the smell of exhaust and burning oil. Surrounded by the typical early evening hubbub of the mortal world, Xander couldn't help but frown.