When Angels Fall

Chapter 5

I stay in my new room for about ten minutes, getting used to the feel and the silence. I finally get up and leave the room, knocking on Kuzo's door.

"Come in!" comes the reply from inside. I nudge the door open to see Kuzo lounging on his bed with an old leather book in his hands. He looks up and smiles when the door opens. "Hi."

"Hey," I say, returning the smile. "So, what am I supposed to do all day? This place seems kind of dull. I noticed there wasn't a TV in my room."

Kuzo sets his book down and stands. He's moving pretty well for a guy who just took two shots to the chest less than two hours ago.

"Well, lucky for you, we have a game room," he says with a smirk, walking past me back into the hall. I follow, wondering what other treasures this place holds.  We've only walked about five steps when a flapping sound comes from nearby. I jump in surprise, taking a step behind Kuzo as a person appears in the hall.

"Hey, Kuzo!" he exclaims, smiling widely as he walks over. Then he notices me, and his eyes widen, although he keeps the smile. "Who's this?"

"Paris," I mumble, watching him suspiciously. Kuzo gives the newcomer a bored look before turning to me.

"This is one of my brothers, Abel," he says. I look between the two of them and laugh.

"Are you sure that's your brother? You two look nothing alike!"

Its's true: Abel is tall, as well, but the similarities stop there. He has light skin and chocolate brown eyes, as well as brown hair that is long and pulled away from his face in a short ponytail. He has a light beard, and his eyes hold something that can only be described as chaos.

"This is my human form," Abel explains, moving his long, brown suede coat aside so he can stick his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "It's unlikely that we'd choose similar forms. We each have different personalities." I nod, understanding. Kuzo raises an eyebrow at Abel.

"I thought you had patrol?" he asks. Abel shrugs.

"I got Maxmilllian to take over for me. He owes me a favor, anyway."

I look up at Kuzo. "I'm assuming that's yet another sibling?" I ask with a chuckle. Kuzo nods, then shoos Abel out of the way as he walks past. I follow and offer Abel a smile. He returns the gesture with a wide grin and a wink, which makes me roll my eyes.

We head down the great stone stairs and back into the main corridor. I now see that there are five large doors here, two on one side, and three on the other. They're spaced fairly far apart, which makes me think the rooms inside must be pretty big.

"I guess I owe you a tour, anyway." Kuzo says with a smile as he pushes open the second door on the left. "You already know that the first room is an infirmary. This is the mess hall."

My eyes widen as I see a very large room, with a high ceiling and three long tables. Off to the side resides what must be a kitchen, tucked away behind an open doorway. I grin as I look around.

"Seems like you're used to a lot of people," I remark. Kuzo shrugs.

"Used to be a place where Knights of the Holy Grail gathered," he says casually, before walking on to the next door on the other side of the hall. My jaw drops, and I run after him.

"Wait, are you serious?" I gasp, grabbing his arm to stop him. He laughs and nods.

"Yep. Where do you think we got all the armor? A museum?" he chuckles, and I smirk as we go to the next room.

"Gaming hall, aka where I spend the least time," Kuzo jokes, holding the door open for me. It's just as big as the others, with all the walls stocked with arcade games. The room is loud with the sounds of electronics beeping and buzzing. In the center of the room is a basketball court, just big enough for three-on-three. And closer to the door is a wide table, beside a bookshelf stocked with board and card games.

"I can see myself enjoying this," I laugh. Kuzo grins, and we head on to the next room. But he doesn't open it just yet, hitting me with a mischevious smirk.

"This is my personal favorite," he murmurs, then dramatically throws the door open. I gasp in wonder.

Before me is the biggest library I have ever seen. Bookshelves line every wall, save a small area, and they're loaded with more books than I can count. The one wall that isn't completely covered by literature houses a large painting above a fireplace the size of a car.

"Wow..." I breathe happily, walking inside and looking at everything. The ceiling is painted like a cathedral, and there are comfy chairs and sofas everywhere. "This is amazing!"

Kuzo smiles as he follows me inside. "I had a feeling you'd like this one," he admits, looking around at the books. He walks to one bookshelf, reaching up and carefully retrieving a small, leather-bound book. He walks back over to me and holds it out. The title stamped in gold on the cover reads Othello, I notice as I take it gently.

I timidly open the book and breathe a soft gasp. The words are handwritten in a spidery print, and the pages feel old. I page through until I reach the back, where I see the signature of William Shakespeare, himself. I look up at Kuzo with shock all over my face.

"Shakespeare signed this?!" I ask. Kuzo smiles and shakes his head.

"Shakespeare wrote this," he corrects me, taking the book back and handling it like it's the most delicate thing in the world. "We saved him from a burning building, once. Well, one of my siblings did. He offered this as payment, the original. It's been in the Nexis ever since."

My fingers are tingling from touching such a special book, and I can't wipe the smile from my face. Kuzo puts the book back in its slot, then nods to the door. "There's one room left, and someone I'd like you to meet."