Angelology(160)

arranged the manufacture of a lyre with all the properties of those of ancient Thrace—the curved

arms, the heavy base, the crossbars. The instrument was created by our most brilliant musicologist,

Dr. Josephat Michael, who labored over each detail, finding silk strings woven with the hair of a

white horse’s tail. After we had unearthed the true lyre, we saw that it was much more sophisticated

than the false version—its body was made of a metallic material that is closest to platinum, an

element that has never been classified and cannot be considered an earthly element. Dr. Michael

named the substance Valkine, after the Valkos, who had done so much to discover the lyre. The

strings were made of glossy golden strands twisted into a tight cord, which Dr. Michael concluded

had been made from strands of the Archangel Gabriel’s hair.

“Despite the obvious differences, the Valkos believed we had no choice but to act. We put the false

lyre in a structured leather case identical to the case of the true lyre. I gave Percival a tip that our

caravan would be driving through Paris at midnight, and he arranged the ambush. If all had gone

according to plan, Percival would have captured Dr. Seraphina Valko and demanded that the

angelological council give the lyre in exchange for her life. We would have traded the false lyre, Dr.

Seraphina would have gone free, and the Nephilim would have believed that they had won the

ultimate prize. But something went terribly wrong.

“Dr. Raphael and I had agreed to vote for making the trade. We assumed that the council members

would follow Dr. Raphael’s lead and vote to trade the lyre for Dr. Seraphina. But for reasons we

could not understand, the council members voted against making the trade, throwing our plan into

chaos. There was a tie, which we asked one of the expedition members—Celestine Clochette—to

break. She had no way of knowing about our plans and so she voted according to protocol, which fit

with her careful, meticulous character. In the end we did not make the trade. I tried to remedy the

mistake by taking the false lyre to Percival myself, telling him that I had stolen the lyre for him. But it

was too late. Percival had killed Dr. Seraphina Valko.

“I have lived with regret over what happened to Seraphina. But my sorrows were not to end on that

terrible night. You see, despite everything, I loved Percival Grigori, or at least was terribly addicted

to how I felt in his presence. It seems amazing to me now, but even after he had ordered my capture

and had allowed me to be brutally tortured, I could not give him up. I went to him one last time in

1944, as the Americans were liberating France. I knew that he would flee before he could be

captured and I needed to see him again, to say good-bye. We spent the night together, and some

months later I learned, to my horror, that I had become pregnant with his child. In my desperation to

hide my condition, I turned to the only person who knew the extent of my involvement with Percival.

My former teacher, Dr. Raphael Valko, understood how much I had suffered from my involvement

with the Grigori family and that my child must be kept away from them at all costs. Raphael married

me, letting the world believe that he was the father of my child. Our marriage caused a scandal among

angelologists loyal to Seraphina’s memory, but it allowed me to keep my secret safe. My daughter,

Angela, was born in 1945. Many years later Angela had a daughter, Evangeline.”

Hearing Evangeline’s name startled Verlaine. “Percival Grigori is her grandfather?” he said,

unable to mask his incredulity.

“Yes,” Gabriella said. “It was Percival Grigori’s granddaughter who, just this morning, saved your

life.”

Rose Room, St. Rose Convent, Milton, New York

Evangeline maneuvered Celestine’s wheelchair into the Rose Room and parked it at the edge of a

long wooden conference table. Nine stooped and wrinkled Elder Sisters, tufts of white hair curling

from under their veils and backs crooked from age, were seated around the table. Mother Perpetua sat

among them, a severe, portly woman wearing the same modern attire as Evangeline. The Elder Sisters

watched Evangeline and Celestine with great interest, a sure sign that Sister Philomena had alerted

them all to the events of the past days. Indeed, as Evangeline took her place at the table, Philomena

before them, speaking with great passion about that very subject. Evangeline’s apprehension only

grew when she saw that Philomena had spread Gabriella’s letter on the table in front of the sisters.

“The information before me,” Philomena said, raising her arms as if inviting the sisters to join her

in observing the letter, “will bring about the victory we have long been hoping for. If the lyre is