Angelology(201)
“Nor are they lost on us,” Gabriella said, surprising Evangeline as she appeared among them,
Verlaine at her side. “Prometheus holds fire in his hands, but thanks to Mrs. Rockefeller he holds
something even more important as well.”
“Gabriella,” Evangeline said. Relief overcame her as she hugged her grandmother. Only then,
feeling Gabriella’s frail embrace, did she realize how worried she’d been.
“You have the other pieces of the lyre?” Gabriella said, impatient. “Show them to me.”
Evangeline opened the casket holding the crossbar, showing her grandmother the contents.
Gabriella unfastened the leather case, where she had kept the cloth pouch containing the lyre’s strings,
the plectrum, and the angelological notebook, then set the casket inside. Only after collecting the
pieces of the instruments in the case and making sure that it was securely closed did Gabriella notice
Alistair Carroll standing at the periphery of the group. She examined him warily until Evangeline
introduced him, explaining his relationship with Mrs. Rockefeller and the assistance he had offered
them.
“Do you know how to remove the pegs from the statue?” Gabriella inquired, her manner one of
intense purpose, as if a lifetime of expertise had been distilled into this one moment. “You know
where they have been hidden?”
“The precise location, madam,” Alistair said. “It has been etched upon my mind for half a century.”
“Where are Vladimir and Saitou-san?” Bruno asked, suddenly realizing that they were missing two
angelologists.
Verlaine checked his watch. He stood so close to Evangeline that she could read the time. It was
6:13.
“They should be here by now,” Evangeline said.
Bruno looked at the Prometheus statue glinting at the far end of the skating rink. “We can’t wait
much longer.”
“We can’t wait another second,” Gabriella said. “It is too dangerous to expose ourselves in this
fashion.”
“Were you followed?” Alistair asked, clearly alarmed by Gabriella’s anxious manner.
“Gabriella believes we were,” Verlaine said, “although we were fortunate enough to complete our
work at the Cloisters without trouble.”
“This was part of their plan,” Gabriella said, scanning the crowd as if she might find the enemy
lurking in the mass of shoppers. “We left the Cloisters unmolested because they chose to let us do so.
We can’t wait another moment. Vladimir and Saitou-san will be here soon enough.”
“In that case let us proceed immediately,” Alistair said, displaying a calm Evangeline found
admirable, reminding her of the stalwart sisters of St. Rose Convent she’d left behind.
Alistair led them along the edge of the plaza and down a concrete stairway to the rink. Walking
alongside the plastic wall bordering the ice, they made their way toward the statue. The GE Building
soared before them, its great facade broken by a row of flags-American, British, French, Portuguese,
German, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Greek, Brazilian, Korean—the unrelenting wind
lifting them into the air in whorls of color. Perhaps the years of isolation at St. Rose had made
Evangeline sensitive to crowds—she found herself examining the people gathering around the rink.
There were teenagers in tight jeans and ski jackets; there were parents with little children; there were
young lovers and middle-aged couples, all skating around and around one another. The crowd made
her see how far away from the world she had lived.
Suddenly she spotted a dark-cloaked figure not five feet from her. Tall, pale-skinned, with great
red eyes, the creature stared intently at her, a menacing expression on its face. Evangeline turned in
all directions, panic coursing through her. Gibborim had mixed within the crowd, each tall, dark
figure standing in silent attention.
Evangeline grasped Verlaine’s hand and drew him closer. “Look,” she whispered. “They’re here.”
“You have to leave,” he said, meeting her eye. “Now, before we’re trapped.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” Evangeline said, glancing around them, her terror growing. The
number of Gibborim had multiplied. “They are everywhere.”
“Come with me,” he said, pulling her away from the cluster of angelologists. “We can leave
together.”
“Not now,” Evangeline said, leaning close so that only he could hear her. “We have to help
Gabriella.”
“But what if we fail?” Verlaine said. “What if something happens to you?”
She smiled slightly and said, “You know, you are the only person in the world who knows my