“I thought you wanted to talk first?” Reign pointed out, nipping at the juncture between Noah’s neck and shoulder. “What you told me is rather concerning.”
Noah snorted over a stifled moan. Reign certainly sounded no more concerned than before. “That was the gist of it. We can go over the details and what to doafterwards.”
“Good,” Reign declared, smiling into Noah’s heated skin. “I’ve been waiting to fuck you all day.”
Noah shivered at the words, his body crawling with goosebumps. Reign wasn’t the only one who’d been waiting for it, but Noah wasn’t about to volunteer that information just yet.
21
Gabriel watched the twenty humans line up in neat rows of five on the other side of the one-way window. They stood motionless and solemn, their hands clasped behind their backs and their eyes focused on some arbitrary point in the middle of what was a mirror for them. Emptied of their emotions and earthy feelings, they were perfect, their bodies and minds ready to host the Lord’s will.
The newest shipment of angels-to-be consisted of men and women in their prime as promised, chosen worthy of transcending beyond the limits of the human realm to serve a greater purpose. If sinners were the black sheep of the herd, then these were the golden children, the top performers, the perfect vessels. Sadly, even if they were a higher grade and even with the increased frequency of initiation, the number of new angels was far from enough.
God needed more soldiers, and for that, the Church needed far greater reach. Further expansion beyond the territories it had conquered across Europe was necessary, starting with the closest and easiest to reach—the Asian Federation. Then the American Federation wouldfollow, perhaps, seeing as Christianity already had a strong foothold there.
It wasn’t just the war with Hell that had propelled the need for expansion either; the foolish ways of the rest of humanity needed correcting. If freedom and scientific progress could be addressed,regulatedlike they were in the Holy Empire, then the number of those who lost the light guiding them to God would decrease. And if that were to happen? Hell would have a harder time stealing the souls that rightfully belonged to Heaven. With limited or no fuel, the domain of the demons would be crippled, rendered defenseless, and made easy to eradicate by God’s Holy Army.
Gabriel crossed his legs and lifted the gilded goblet from the armrest of his luxurious chair, watching Jaoel meander between the humans on the other side. An arm was lifted here, a leg was poked there, the physical inspection preceding the spiritual as Jaoel delved into the depths of the subjects’ minds to evaluate and ensure they were suitably prepared to receive God’s will. He spent no longer than a minute per person, a good sign that, unlike Gabriel’s last visit, this time around, there were no slip-ups. No half-converted humans causing trouble.
As for why Gabriel was here today… Supporting the recovering angel was not the only reason; he had things to discuss with the Cardinal in relation to the coming expansion.
Jaoel stepped away from the last man and approached the Cardinal, the two of them exchanging a few words before disappearing through the door on the left so they could return to the room behind the glass where Gabriel currently lounged and sipped wine.
“The grade of this batch is above average,” Jaoel reported as soon as he walked in. He positioned himself onGabriel’s right, lacing his hands behind his back, and faced the glass, his eyes flicking from one blank face to another. “Two are in the single digits.”
“Commendable work, Cardinal,” Gabriel praised the human, though kept his tone stern.
A single digit classification grade indicated that a subject had the aptitude and potential for a higher order. It didn’t happen often. If a single digit managed to pass the extra test after the angel training, they would then attain the next rank. Once an emissary, they would no longer be limited to fighting God’s wars as a mere soldier.
“Thank you,” the Cardinal said, evidently pleased with himself as he stood on the other side of Gabriel. “We are working hard to ensure the quality is constantly increasing. The various adjusted programs that we have been rolling out among the general population show promising results. In fact, just in a couple of months we should be—”
Bored already by the Cardinal’s blabbering, Gabriel tuned him out and instead focused on Jaoel, who looked much less disinterested in what the man had to say. On the contrary, actually; the angel was truly listening, absorbing every word as if it held great knowledge he couldn’t miss out on. Perhaps the months Jaoel had spent fighting the demon infection were behind it, or maybe he was simply glad to be back to fulfilling his duties, Gabriel didn’t know. Regardless, it ultimately mattered little to him, with the only worthwhile implication being that if Jaoel had recovered enough, then Gabriel needn’t tag along anymore.
When the Cardinal finally shut up, Gabriel let his eyes bounce back to him. “The Gatekeeper will be here tonight for collection.”
“Ah, where should we meet him?”
Such details were not worth Gabriel’s time. “You can work that out with Jaoel. Now, tell me, have you heard from your agent yet?”
The question had Jaoel’s ears perk up, a telltale that he was more than a little interested in what was about to be said. He tried to mask the slip up as it happened, to recuperate, but Gabriel didn’t miss it. It wasn’t within the angel’s jurisdiction to know such things, Gabriel mused, but it would be one day, so he deemed it more trouble to ask him to leave than to let him remain.
“Yes. She’ll be conducting her tour of the region as per the revised agenda, and meeting with a few politicians. One of them will be running for prime minister next year. We believe that, given the right kind of…motivation, we can recruit more than a few to our cause.”
Money, a tool so easy to wield. It was power without the need for actual strength, a way to win wars without directly dirtying one’s hands with blood.
“Do you think it would be enough to make them comply?” Jaoel asked out of turn what Gabriel had meant to pose.
Jaoel was ranked lower than Gabriel despite the promotion God had given him. He had been in charge of the dealings with the Cardinal for the past half-century, true, but while Gabriel had disclosed the other reason for being here today, Jaoel was still below the rank of Throne and thus had no right to meddle in Gabriel’s affairs. Perhaps… the long slumber due to his injury was making Jaoel forget his place. Or, perhaps, the summons from God and the promotion had fogged his judgment and he needed to be reminded of the hierarchy in Heaven.
Whichever it was, Gabriel decided he would deal with it later. For now, he could let Jaoel’s actions slipsince he was more interested in the Cardinal’s answer than reprimanding the angel who’d raised a rather good point. Even if some of the major figures at the top could be bought, it was unlikely that the populace would be as receptive to the changes the Church wanted to impose. On the contrary, even—if the government tried to push those ideas too fast, things could backfire. The politicians could lose the people’s favor overnight. Which was why a simple bribe wouldn’t work here, not when the risk the Federation’s government would be taking was so great.
“I doubt a sponsorship Gala and a few officials in your pockets is the best you can do,” Gabriel pressed before the Cardinal gave his reply. “Or sufficient to drive forward what we’ve set out to do.”
“O-of course not!” the Cardinal rushed to defend. “I’ve been informed of a fortunate development that might just be what we needed. It would give us the edge even if we can’t get the government to comply.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“We’ve suspected for a while now that the American and Asian Federations, who are both most openly opposed to the Holy Empire’s ways, have been… trying to undermine us, should we say. It seems Teresa has identified a way to intercept their communication channels.”
